Finding Beauty Where Ever I Live

On March 7 I planted flowers in a previously barren corner of dirt by the front door of Greenbrier Cottage.  This week the Columbine bloomed.  It is the first time I recall having Columbine blossom for me.  I consider it a gift of remarkable beauty.  Since that first planting, over 2 months ago, I have also added a window box with Pansies.  The Nasturtiums have nearly crowed the Pansies into concealment but the purple and yellow continue to peek over the round leaves in companionable serenity.  I have always wanted a flower box and now I have one. 

The Petunia basket my mother gave me has opened its magenta blossoms and seems to be thriving in the cool, wet spring we are having in Southern Oregon.  In fact, the whole front yard has turned into an "Oasis of Beauty" as I had hoped.  It may not be remarkable to the casual observer, but to me, it is a testimony of God's Grace.  It is the story of redemption.

When we moved here last August, there was nothing but dry fox tails and black walnut hulls littering the yard.  Today new grass has replaced the fox tails and fragrant blossoms have taken root in the once barren soil.  It has transformed Greenbrier Cottage from an ugly shack to a darling cottage.  Even the Snowball Bush I feared had been killed by previous tenants proudly supports a hummingbird feeder under its dazzling blossoms.  And this is only May, just think what June will bless me with.